


A Golden Price

by GoodtimeGambler



Category: Adventurers Wanted Series - M. L. Forman
Genre: OC, Original Character(s), alex taylor - Freeform, arconn - Freeform, skeld - Freeform, this takes place alongside cannon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-07
Updated: 2019-06-07
Packaged: 2020-04-12 04:17:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 18,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19124422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GoodtimeGambler/pseuds/GoodtimeGambler
Summary: This time Alex wasn't alone when he stepped into the fateful shop that began his adventure. Alice, his best friend, was with him. She's going to try her best to protect him, but how far is she willing to go to keep him safe; will it be worth her life? On top of worrying for her best friend, Alice has to conquer new magic. She has to prove herself worthy of being an adventurer.





	1. Strange Whispers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Is it a curse or a blessing to have walked into a strange little shop like Clutter's?

She trailed her friend out of the Happy Dragon tavern, just having witnessed him being blamed for something that he had no fault in. She fell into step about a meter behind him. Her friend could be a little...touchy when he was angry, and he was clearly mad now. She didn’t make much noise, and what little sound was produced in the alleys the two walked through was steadily drowned out by cars rumbling up and down the street that Alex, her dear companion, was approaching.

The rest of the girl’s attire was just as discreet as her style of walking. Quiet, no jingling jewelry or flashy, obtrusive silver buttons. Even her eyes didn’t draw attention, being of a dark grey sort. Neither did her hair fly about, thanks in part to a tarnished clip and the rest to a hood from her grey coat. It was rather windy, even in a place with close walls as a buffer. The clouds were dark, stormy grey, and that, plus the wind, hinted at a fast approaching storm.

The girl patted, for reassurance, the pocket knife which was, true to it’s namesake, located in one of her front pockets of her black slacks.  She closed the distance between herself and her friend at a moderate pace, aiming to be beside him when he exited the alley, but hopefully not to catch up before that.

“Alex,” she announced her presence by calling his name as he turned out of the alley, and she was almost directly behind him.

He jumped a little, surprised that he wasn’t alone, “Alice, hey.”

“Hey yourself, I heard everything.” Alice’s lips pressed in a thin smile, clearly unsure if the mood of her friend had become any brighter at her entrance.

“Oh.” his shoulders slumped a little.

“But hey, it wasn’t your fault. And if you want to stay out for a while, we could go to my house. Gods know my parents don’t care,” she shrugged.

“Maybe in a bit, let's walk,” his suggestion wasn't exactly unwelcome, since they could stop for a warm drink a little further up the street and enjoy it before the storm hit.

“Alright buddy,” she nodded, motioning up the street, “Let's get something to drink. I hear they’ve got pumpkin spice coffee at the shop up the street. It's on me this time.” Alice could practically feel his shoulders relax, a walk with her was Alex’s distraction from anger, and an excellent one at that.

Though, halfway down the street, Alice was distracted by the seemingly overnight appearance of a new bookshop.

“Want to go in?” Alex read her mind almost to a tee as he stared at the sign of the store, “This place must be pretty new for you to stare at it like that.”

“I swear I walked up here yesterday for coffee, and didn’t see this place! I must be going blind.” Alice muttered the last part to herself, knowing fully well that Alex heard it anyway. There was a sudden lack of traffic to provide background noise, but the sound of thunder cracking overhead urged Alice inside, with Alex quick to enter after her.

“Why hello.” a fairly cheery voice addressed the pair once the shop door had closed behind them.

“Good day sir.” Alice smiled to the short man who was seated behind a desk which held a mountain of papers, folders, and thick books. It looked like everything might tumble down at the slightest provocation, but he fearlessly moved papers to his heart’s content, apparently unaware of how dangerous the state of his desk was becoming.

“You two young people are here for an adventure, no doubt.” he smiled, looking at the newly arrived pair. He had to lean to see past his current client, who was talking quite enthusiastically to him.

Even as he spoke, Alice wasn’t paying any attention to him.

A familiar person was standing right next to the man; Alice’s sister, Amelia, was there. She seemed frozen, motionless upon turning to see the newcomers, and shocked.

“Alice?” Amelia blinked a few times, “I didn’t know you were a...”

Amelia paused, Alice waited. She was a what?

A few minutes later, Amelia and Alice sat, alone. Her older sister had asked Clutter, that was the short man’s name, for a moment in private. This was certainly private, bordering on solitary.

“What have I stepped into this time?” Alice sighed, relaxing back into a chair and slouching comfortably in preparation for some enlightenment. Amelia had tried to explain _something_ about adventures and a different world and far too many other things before deciding that she needed to talk to her younger sister alone.

“Your wildest day-dreams are about to come true,” Amelia sighed, “but this isn’t what I wanted to happen. I wanted you to find out quietly, and slowly, but there’s a party leaving on an adventure soon and they’re looking for two. You and Alex could be those two if I hurry up.”

“Party? Adventure? You’re talking like this is the start of Dragon Age,” Alice rolled her eyes and sighed, “Do some real explaining. I’ll take what you say at face value, promise.”

Amelia gave her sister a very level gaze, putting away any former giddiness she’d had. “There’s another entire world out there. You just stepped into one of the entry gates. It has magic, and dragons, and adventures like the kind _you_ _dream of_. Actual paying adventures with goals and leaders and company members.”

The older woman paused, checking in her sister’s face for a reaction. She saw skepticism there, but maybe, just maybe, a smile. Lo and behold, it widened, and Alice’s eyes glistened too.

“Fucking awful to make me hope like this. You know it, you asshole,” Alice wiped her eyes on a sleeve. Everything she wished for in her darkest moments, real? It was too much. Knowing that the hope of this being true would soon be crushed. It was too cruel.

“I can prove it. I can prove it’s real. I swear to you,” Amelia’s voice was almost frantic.

“I’m listening,” Alice pulled her coat tighter around herself, giving her hands something to do.

“I’ve been an adventurer for six years, our time. You know when Dad comes home sometimes and he looks a little different, or he talks just slightly with an accent of some kind? He’s one too. We were hoping...” she paused, obviously gathering thoughts, “We were hoping that you would be an Adventurer like us. I practically drowned you in fantasy worlds trying to get some kind of sign that said yes. I’d almost say that adventuring is in our blood and bones.”

“Shut the hell up,” Alice leaned forward, glancing dramatically from side to side, checking for listeners, and whispered, “There’s no way Dad’s that cool.”

Amelia grinned at her sister and made a ‘huff’ noise that was her subtle laughter, “He did a good job of Adventuring. Has enough coin to set himself up with a nice house in the other world for the rest of his life, and ours, and our grandkids. That’s not my point though. You’re here! Only Adventurers can even get into this place, so you’ve got a chance. This is a once in a lifetime deal, you can join an adventure with Alex for support and I get to tell Dad the good news.” Amelia’s leg bounced up and down with her excitement.

“Will it be dangerous?” Alice’s question was one of the more obvious ones in her mind. There were thousands, but that was the most important. Alex, at least, needed to come home in one piece.

“Maybe. From what I heard, the company is desperately searching. Clutter thought maybe me and Dad could join up, but we have things that need doing and Dad is slowly getting more grounded in _our_ world,” Amelia’s speech sped up just a little bit, and Alice could tell she was thinking about her little sister objecting to the very idea that he could be grounded anyplace at all.

“Alex and I though, we’re a different story, right?” Alice sighed.

“Exactly. So go; hurry up! You trust me, right?”

 _She knows how to make me do something, that’s for sure._ Alice thought with a grimace, “Yeah yeah, I’ll go.”

“Good, now let’s get the paperwork settled. I’ll stick around for as long as I can, but not everything that goes on is stuff I’m allowed to know. I’m sure they’ll accept you, and once the deal is sealed and you’re in the other world, ask somebody in the company how to send letters. Write me as often as you can and then,” her smile widened.

So far everything Amelia had said sounded sincere, but Alice was waiting for something. Some little slip by her sister that would mean that all this was too good to be true. Some kind of trap, maybe.

Alice wondered how long the euphoric feeling of all this nonsense would last. She wanted this to be real, wanted it so badly that it hurt...but it couldn’t be. There could never be something so good as this.

There was paperwork from Clutter, but Amelia stayed to help the young pair. After that though, Amelia had to leave. Before that though, just as she was turning away, she spun back to face Alice, as if remembering something important, and frantically spoke into her backpack.

It looked horrifically crazy, but something came out. Literally came out straight into her hand when she asked for it. She came up and whispered to Alice, “Take this, lots of female adventurers wear them, it’s a charmed bracelet that stops your monthlies without damage to any of your organs.”

Alice hadn’t even thought about it. Periods in the middle of the wilderness? No fun. She took the bracelet from her and slipped it on. The thing fit tightly. It was a sort of metal bangle with a lot of tiny etchings. “Good idea, at least these people know convenience when they find it.”

Then it was some odd minutes of paper-work, filling out forms and lots of nonsense.

“I can’t come with you to this next bit, it’s not my business. Remember Aloisia, write me.” She was deathly serious. Amelia almost never used her sister’s proper name. It was a little frightening, and the younger girl wondered for a moment if _that_ was the danger cue she’d been watching for.

Mr. Clutter led them to another back room once Amelia had marched off to the front, and left without really speaking again.

“Alex, what do you think?” Alice smiled, giving him more of a lopsided, sarcastic grin than anything that would pass for a real smile. It was a rare thing that she did, and then only for Alex.

“I think this is crazy.” he said, shaking his head.

“Me too. Tell you what, if something happens, you run. Then, you get help, and come back for me if I don’t get out.” Alice scanned the room grimly. She still had a pocket knife, but beyond that...there was only a poker for the roaring fire.

“How can you be so matter-of-fact saying something like that?” he questioned, exasperated. He was always exasperated with her.

She looked him in the eye, “Because it’s the truth. If this is one giant trap for something then one of us has to make it out of here, and get help. I’m prepared to be injured and I’d have to find Amelia, ‘cause if this is something horrible then she wouldn’t have been allowed to walk out. This whole thing could take a turn, and you run faster than me. I don’t want to die, but I’m ready to die.” Voicing the feeling of terrifying dread in the pit of her stomach didn’t make it much better, but a little was better than nothing. At least Alex knew her feelings now. The little speech made her feel just a little braver too.

It was Alice’s unluckiness that Mr. Clutter led two men inside just in time to hear the last statement. Although she’d rushed to finish the sentence there was no doubt they’d heard Alice’s voice.

“Very brave,” there was a tall man nodding. His hair was a white-blond, shirt green, and he had brown pants on, as well as leather boots. His companion was much shorter, just at five feet maybe, with a red shirt, and a beard that reached his belt. Odd style choices, both straight from Middle-Earth.

“She’s nearly fearless.” Alex sighed his usual reply to something like what the tall man had said.

Alice blinked, and felt her entire body weaken, the taller one had.... _pointed ears?_

This wasn’t helping the dread, in fact it worsened. Most of Alice wished that she would wake up, this would all have been a dream, and in the light of morning all that would remain of this would be strange whispers from a dream.

Yet another part of her was thrilled at the turn of events. An elf? Amazing! The conflict in her emotions was a tumult, and she was scared. So, so scared.


	2. Your Choice Alone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alice agrees to an adventure, but is her goal really to defeat a dragon?

Alice thought it was odd to hear everything explained. From the money system of this  _ other _ place to slaying a dragon, no facts conflicted. It was either a very well thought out story...or it was true. It could all really be true.

The possibility was growing almost large enough to make her breath stop.

“So, a dragon?” Alice asked, leaning back in a cozy chair.

“Yes, Slathbog the Red.” Arconn nodded. He was the tall elfin man, as charismatic as he was graceful.

“And we’re going to  _ kill _ it?” she tried to wrap her head around slaying something so...so  _ mighty _ as a dragon.

“There are going to be nine of us, countin’ you two.” Thrang offered. He was the man of five feet in height, a dwarf, Alice had found out. He certainly fit the description.

“Alex, you going?” Alice posed the question, taking down her hood to play with an end of her brown hair. Even such a small thing felt like an act of trust, a vulnerability she had to trust that nobody would take advantage of.

He paused for only a second, “I want to.”

Alice repositioned her hair clip, trying to gather stray strands of hair and contain them, it gave her something to focus on aside from this insane conversation, “If you’re going then I’m going. If something happened to you I’d never forgive myself.”

“But remember, this is your choice alone, nobody should be able to force you,” Thrang was clearly trying to caution her, but Alice didn’t care.

She wanted this, though. It was everything that Alice had ever wanted to be true, and then even better than that, all set neatly in front of her. Alex signed the contract, the Adventurer’s Bargain and...she signed, in a slightly shaky hand, right after him.

Before Alice knew it, she was trying to keep up with Arconn’s long stride while he walked briskly behind Alex, and with Alex following Thrang she thought they looked like marching toy soldiers in mismatched clothes.

“Did everything go well?” Clutter asked as the four emerged and assembled in front of the desk he was currently rising from. The movement shook the stacks upon stacks of papers on his desk dangerously.

“Yes, all that’s left is to get back to Telous.” Thrang nodded, tapping his foot and shuffling around just a tiny bit. He probably didn’t realize it. It was a curious tick.

“And introduce Alex and Alice to Bregnest.” Arconn added, seeming genuinely pleased at having recruited the two in question. It sounded odd for him to say “Alice.” Just the way the elf pronounced her name was unfamiliar to Alice, and she wasn’t sure if she did or didn’t particularly like it. Arconn’s accent was a curious one to say the least.

Although that was really the least of all the things that seemed odd to her now, and Alice wasn’t quite sure what to expect next. A unicorn perhaps? Maybe a talking cat?

It would make an excellent touch.

“You should use the back door, someone tried to pull a Bumblehog through the closet earlier.” Clutter informed us. Alice’s train of thought hadn’t taken over two or three seconds, but it was interrupted now, almost gone as quickly as smoke on a windy day. \

_ A bumble what? _ Alice couldn’t even open her mouth to ask before Arconn replied.

“Ah, I see.” He nodded and took the lead, Alice followed directly behind him. She was on the verge of deciding that she liked Arconn, he seemed pleasant to be around _. Adaptable? That might be the right word for him. He takes things as they come, whereas Thrang is more impatient.  _

Alice pulled her hair, yet again, away from her eyes. Noticing as she walked that a certain weight in her pocket was still there. The knife. A small comfort found in an entire world full of strangeness.

What Arconn had done eluded her, but quite suddenly there was a doorway where, formerly, there had been a solid wall of bricks. Beyond the open door... a green ocean of grass swaying in waves because of a soft breeze. Past that, breaking the waves of air, was a town. More like a city, really.

“Alice, come.” Arconn waved her on, and she blinked from where she stood, still inside the shop while Alex and Thrang had moved past while she was consumed in awe. Alice shook her head rather violently, attempting to clear it, it wasn’t like her to gawk at scenery.  _ I have to pull it together for Alex’s sake _ . Who knew whether or not  _ he’d _ be carried away in wonder or get himself into trouble? 

She was a year his elder, and thought anxiously that it was her job to keep him safe. How would she explain it if he didn’t come back?

The thought was too horrible to dwell on, but it was there. In the back of her mind, she wondered what would happen if he never came home. The entire thing would be horrific, certainly.

She tried to focus on something else, on Arconn’s kind of walking, on Thrang’s excessive hand gestures, on  _ anything  _ else. And eventually, they entered the city.

Walking through the streets of Tealous, the city she'd seen from afar, was.. eventful. It was a bustling town, and old too. Not decrepit or in bad condition, just old.  Shops lined the bustling streets, things constantly caught her eye. Bits of good armor or a stand with  _ amazing _ jewelry would attract most of her attention as she passed with her three companions. Arconn noticed what she was looking at, and he seemed to be making a game out of guessing what had caught her eye.

We were passing another jewelry booth, of course Alice looked briefly.There was a rather pretty ring at this one...a pair of them actually.  They looked rather like the wedding rings her Mom and Dad shared. Black Opal rings. Not golden bands with opal gems, but an entire ring band made of black opal. Did he get them from here?

"The rings?" Arconn posed the question casually.

Her entire process of thought about the bits of stone hadn't taken long, but now he had Alice’s full attention. "My Mom and Dad have rings like them. The black opal bands, they're wedding rings. I wonder if he got them from here."

"Is your Father's name Thomas Cleto?" Arconn sounded mildly surprised at the thought.

"You know him?" she looked around again, smiling a bit. The elf would probably  know how to send letters, and maybe he could help her send one to her Dad. That would be really great.

"Yes, I've been on two or three ventures with him. You have an older brother too, then?" 

_ Oh dear.  _ Alice frowned suddenly. Not physical frowning, more like her soul had flinched and begun to sarcastically frown.

"I have an older  _ sister _ . She..." Oh how does one exactly explain what being transgender is?

"She was a man once?" He asked, not unkindly.

"No, Amelia has always been a woman, but it's only recently that she got up the courage to show it," Alice really hoped that made sense to him.

"I see," he nodded to the young lady, "So how is she? I remember running into her a few times."

"Oh Amelia is great. Really happy and all that jazz. She and Mr. Clutter are the ones who convinced Alex n' me to apply for this...adventure," Alice didn't see any harm in telling him, "She wanted me to write too, but I'm not sure how that's going to work."

"I'll teach you; it's rather simple," he shrugged, but it was more graceful than your average roll of the shoulders.

"Ah the Swan, best tavern in Tealous," Thrang mused. 

She noticed a gold swan hanging above the doors, "Is that plated or solid gold?"  Her eyebrows knitted together, it... couldn't be solid. There was no way. If anybody heard the question, they studiously pretended not to. 

_ Oh this is going to be a fun time.  _ She thought, smiling wider than before.

The inside of The Swan looked just as inviting as the outside, albeit darker and more...homey. There weren't very many people inside, but Alice attributed that to the time of day. The place was spacious, and not to mention three stories tall. There was a bar that extended for most of the back wall's length, Arconn and Thrang walked toward it.

"You spent quite some time away," a man observed, he was sitting at the bar, a mug in his hands. He swiveled on the stool to face Thrang.

"Well, there wasn't exactly a line of people to join us," Thrang grunted as he waltzed himself over to the bar and took up a waiting mug. The barman was quick. So quick in fact that Alice didn’t see him at all, although the dim set lighting didn’t help her sight.

"But I see you've found two." The man observed. 

He was tall, but not quite Arconn's height. He held at least five inches on Alice herself, and accompanying his steely grey eyes was a salt and pepper beard, trimmed short. His hair was jaw length, the good majority of it was tied back, but some pieces were, she thought, deliberately left to hang in small braids at his temples.

"Alex Taylor, and Alice Cleto, young but willing, Clutter recommended them as a pair," Thrang paused, "First-timers."

The man stood up, motioning Alex and Alice closer. They'd been approaching rather slowly before, nervously. Alice felt like a coyote trying to intimidate a tiger. Bregnest was bigger than her, and, strong as Alice was,  he was probably stronger too. A dangerous combination. Her only advantage would be the pocket knife.

"I am Bregnest, company leader," he held out  hand to Alex, who shook it, then offered in turn to Alice the same formality. He had a firm hand, rough and calloused.

"A pleasure," her voice was low, certainly cautious. _ If he was going to attack, he missed a good chance with the handshake.  _

"I heard the name Cleto, daughter of Thomas?" Bregnest posed the same question that Arconn had.

"Yes, that would be right,"  Amelia hadn’t said that their Dad was famous, but it seemed like an awful lot of people knew his name.

"A good man, I heard from him rather recently. How is your sister?" Bregnest, Alice thought, was being formally curious. She could tell that he  _ did _ care about the answer, but maybe, somehow, not in a social way. Maybe out of politeness.

"Amelia is doing well," she smiled, just a tiny bit, at him. Bregenest was still close enough to attack her and Alice, but did nothing. Alice was still, however, nervous beyond reason.

"That is good to hear," Bregnest turned to Arconn now, significantly more serious "They're going to need gear."

"I'll stand good for them," Thrang nodded to his leader, mug still in hand. He seemed reluctant to put it down.

“Perhaps Andy would take them to get supplies after they’ve met the company,” Arconn’s suggestion came just before several rather loud people came in. One man in particular was smiling and laughing and all around looking like a wonderful happy  _ mess _ to Alice.

“Ah, two more I spy?” the mess asked, hanging off a much younger man’s shoulder. The younger of the pair seemed to be having a hard time staying upright with so much extra baggage.

“Enough of your nonsense Skeld,” another dwarf, at least Alice thought he was a dwarf, laughed sternly, but with a smile.

“I don’t think there ever is,” the mess called Skeld answered.

“What?” the young man asked.

“Enough of my nonsense,” he laughed, nearly taking the young man with him in a full body convulsion of giggling.

The company leader, Bregnest, shoved Skeld none too gently out of the way of the group’s approach to the bar and announced, “These are our final two additions: Alex Taylor and Alice Cleto.”

Bregnest gestured to the dwarf who was still unknown to Alice, “It is my honor to introduce the remainder of our company. This is Halfdan Bluevest, cousin to Thrang.”

“The honor is mine, Bregnest, and it is a pleasure to meet you, Master Bluevest,” Alice used the words of every fantasy game she’d ever played, and thought they came out smoothly. She stuttered just a little bit, fumbling words in her usual way with strangers. It wasn’t too bad, but it wasn’t the first impression she’d hoped to make.

“The pleasure is mine, and please, Halfdan is well enough for a company member and friend,” the dwarf answered, his voice kind and with a smile on his face.

“This young man is Anders Goodseed, he goes by Andy” Bregnest continued, waiting for Alex to say something similar to a greeting after Alice.

“Master Tayo Blackman,” Bregnest pointed to a rather grim faced man with black hair and countenance rather like Dracula’s. He looked sad. His eyes showed it, as people’s eyes often give way to what thoughts are coming through their minds. He offered a firm handshake instead of a verbal greeting. Alice was still waiting for some kind of violence to start.

“And Skeld, son of Haplack,” Skeld put in, smiling widely and offering his hand to Alice. His grip was firm, and his hands were calloused, nails with some amount of dirt under them, but not such that it would be odd. He was strong, definitely strong.

“Andy, could you take these two shopping for gear,” Bregnest was definitely not asking a question, there was no room for refusal, and Alice noted that. 

_ He wants to talk about you, _ a little voice whispered in the back of her head. It was right, she felt it in her bones.

Andy nodded his consent and posed the question of payment, Thrang laughed into his mug and told Andy that he would “stand good” for the two young people.

Alice figured that “standing good” meant that thrang would pay for all of their things. That worried her, since there were two of them and probably an awful lot of things to pick up, something that especially worried her was the price of a weapon. Surely she would need one, and Alex too.

She soon found that the price of everything worried her.


	3. Midnight Magic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A bag, a weapon, a spell, will all of this be enough to see Alice through a whole adventure?

There was an overwhelming amount of shopping to do, it turned out. Alice hefted a good many boxes and bags around the town, Alex did the same. Andy studiously collected receipts for every purchase at once, save one or two. Alice had to procure those for herself. This mainly went on at clothing stores that sold exclusively women’s garments, bras and such. Andy wouldn’t go within five paces of the door and, perhaps wisely, neither would Alex.

Alice had to say, all of the undergarments in this world were just as comfortable as in the other, and probably sturdier to boot. The shopkeep had been very helpful as well, not trying to shove lacy items on her, understanding that Alice was looking for something different. That was a change from the other world too, the retail workers were more relaxed.

When Alice gave him the receipt for that particular purchase, Andy didn’t even look at it. He just shuffled the bit of paper away among the others.

_ They’re just bras. It’s not like the mention of them is going to make you need one.  _ Alice sighed in her mind, taking up once more the parcels and bags that she’d been walking around with before.

“The next stop is just up the street, the bag maker,” Andy announced.

“Are your bags magic? I can’t imagine carrying this many things around for an entire trip,” Alex probably knew he was complaining a little bit, but why not? This was a lot of stuff.

“Yes, actually. They’re very large on the inside; you could store all of that,” he made a stiff gesture to the packages that the pair was carrying, “in your bags. And then probably have room to spare. We’re going to get decent models, expanding rooms, and bath for you.” He motioned to Alice, “Since I’m sure you don’t want to bathe with a bunch of us men.”

Alice just shrugged, choosing not to really respond. The statement felt rather pointed, but she wasn’t going to get angry. She wondered if she was imagining the antagonism.

Alex got a different conversation started with Andy. He managed to bring up a concern that had also been bothering Alice for a decent amount of this shopping excursion: money. He got Andy to explain the system of coins that were used here. Alice thought it was very interesting in comparison to the United States’ system of banking.

Their time learning to use magic bags was also...interesting. Alice couldn’t think of any word to describe most of the things in this city other than “interesting." That’s what everything was. Even the /food/ they bought for their long trip was interesting.

 

She wanted to know more, she wanted to know everything. The only problem was that she wanted to know it all right now. Even so, she didn’t want to ask Andy. She couldn’t say why, Alice could only think about how he made her nervous. There was no explanation, but she felt words die in her throat every time she thought to ask a question.

It wasn’t a new occurrence for her, just a normal kind of unease that she got around to feeling used to. It happened with lots of people, usually women were the cause, but it could be triggered by men too.

Alice just filed away the questions in her mind, trying to put them in a space where she’d remember them all. She’d ask Arconn later. Maybe Thrang or Skeld. Those three didn’t make her nervous or tongue tied like Andy. Even when he smiled at her for reminding him to buy food items, Anders Goodseed made her nervous. She was starting to have a firm dislike for him, although she knew it was no fault of his, but one of hers.

She was only too aware of her faults. Alice could force herself, in a way, to overcome this problem, but she didn’t want to. The strain was a kind of mental one. Though she’d already had enough of that today, with the mind blowing experience of a new world’s existence and all. Maybe when they were on the road she could do it.

It was odd that the blacksmith didn’t scare her. He was tall and all around  _ big _ . If any man frightened her, it should have been him, not Andy: the tall and lanky youth. Mr. Blackburn didn’t hesitate to start taking measurements for Alex and Alice, having no reserve because of her gender, which she thought was nice. A few shopkeepers had turned their noses up, just slightly, at Alice being signed on for an adventure. They seemed to be able to guess what the trio was up to after a few minutes of helping them.

The poses that Blackburn forced the pair of first-timers into were...odd.

“Alex could use most any weapon, maybe the best choices would be an axe, a sword, or...just a moment,” Blackburn hesitated, flipping through his notebook a few times, scanning pages. He was certainly making Andy nervous.

“Is something wrong?” their escort asked, eyebrows going up in concern.

“Just being sure of my measurements,” Blackburn answered, “They would both be suited for a staff.”

“A staff? Are you sure?” Andy asked the question as if Blackburn hadn’t checked his notebook a minute prior. He seemed to stare, like the smith had grown an extra head quite suddenly.

“The book is never wrong,” Blackburn tapped his notebook gently, face rather serious.

“They’re not trained for any sort of staff,” Andy shook his head, voice nervous, “we’ll look at swords or axes for him. And for Alice?” Andy seemed to want to hurry off the subject of staves. Alice thought it odd.

“The girl would do best with a two handed weapon, axe, hammer, or spear,” Blackburn shrugged.

Alice didn’t quite understand what the fuss was about, “What’s so special about staves?”

“A wizard’s weapon, they are,” Blackburn answered.

“What about a quarterstaff?” Alice persisted. She could wield a quarterstaff with general efficiency, and definitely would have liked to get her hands on one of them.

“We call those double ended spears, for distinction,” Blackburn’s tone wasn’t unkind at all, he genuinely wanted to explain this point, “Usually they have two ends or two blades with a wooden spot in the middle for a grip. A wizard’s staff has one end, usually something attached to it, and the other is about as good as a walking stick.”

“Do you have any double ended spears?” Andy seemed to be picking up the fact that Alice wanted one of them.

Blackburn rubbed his chin, “A few.” He motioned for the party of three to follow him, and Alice was surprised to see exactly how extensive the building was. There were an overwhelming number of weapons housed in this shop. Not to mention pieces of armor ranging from simple leather or plate to complex chain mail. Styles of armor that Alice couldn’t even identify hung high on the walls.

Blackburn showed Alex swords first, and pointed Alice to the spears to find an item to her liking. She found that “a few” was around twenty. She wondered, based on this estimation, how many ‘a lot’ would have turned out to be.

Alice tested a few of them, not going over six feet in length, any taller and she found them hard to control. There were several suitable candidates after she’d checked every one. She managed to narrow the possibilities down to three in the end. They were all excellent quality with obvious care and skill at the craft of weapon making

They were all beautiful work, sturdy and ornate in the same moment. Any of them would be perfect for her use...if she could only pick one.

She closed her eyes, picturing each spear, and trying to feel for them. Trying to feel if there was something special in one of them. It was what fantasy characters would do, and this was a fantasy style world, wasn’t it?

She passed her hands over each stave in turn, and, lo and behold, she thought there was something different about one.

She opened her eyes, surprised. It was the last of the three she’d imagined picking. Its shaft was made of metal, not flexible wood. The ends tapered down to thin points, not a blade shape. Nor was it something heavy that would cause an effect close to that of a club or mace. The metal had a dark, rich, blue tinge and she had no idea of how metal could be such a way, but it was beautiful.

For just a moment, she thought the object had engraved sigils on it. Although upon a blink and closer inspection, she only saw silvery grey veins of color. After another minute of feeling and looking at the tiny lines, she noted that these weren't sunken in to create a rough surface as she would have expected. The silver melded into the rod to make a smooth feeling. Alice didn’t bother to take a better, closer look at them, assuming they were solid lines of color.

It spun well, went through a basic attack sequence with more grace than she'd expected, and was excellent for fast work. She was practically in love with the ‘double ended spear’ already.

When Alice returned to Alex, Andy, and Blackburn, the three were gazing at a rather strange sword in Alex's hands. It had sigils on it. Alice was positive of this, although they looked like no sort of sigils that she'd ever seen before. Certainly not something from their world...but maybe something similar from this one.

Sigils from her world weren't unfamiliar to her, after all, she was a sort of...Pagan witch. Magic wasn't new to her, at least the sort of magic that was from her world. She had to say, these didn’t look much like anything from her world. She wondered if the magic of her world, the kind with herbs and rituals and midnight charm making would work here. She affirmed to herself that she would try later in the evening. What could it hurt? If it worked, the magic might be useful. If it didn’t, then there was no loss in finding out.

Alice’s train of thought involving magic was derailed by Blackburn. “Do either of you have experience in these weapon types?” His question had an even tone with a raised eyebrow. Andy responded with only a shrug.

“No,” Alex admitted, face flushing.

Alice was a different story, “Yes,” she answered in a simple tone.

“That’s well enough. Many can use a sword, but a double ended spear is a more specialized weapon. Few could count themselves a warrior capable of using that,” Blackburn pointed to the weapon in Alice’s hands “as more than an overblown fire poker.”

Alice was feeling courageous for the moment when she asked, “Can you?”

He laughed. It sounded like his chest had bellows like a forge instead of lungs, the sound was deep and well humored, but short. “No, I haven’t the patience. I could not even boast that this item is of my own make, though I assure you,” Blackburn turned to Andy, “That it is as good, if not better than my own work. Though I’ll ask you not to repeat those words.”

“It never crossed my mind,” Andy replied, “Let’s talk about prices.”

While they negotiated prices, Alice was able to talk to Alex, finally, without the attention of somebody else. “Are you alright with…all of this?” Alice made a wide sweeping motion, meaning to gesture to all the day’s experiences.

“It’s great. I mean, what isn’t there to love? Sure there’s a dragon at the end of it but this…this is good. And I get a sword, how cool is that?” Alex smiled in a wonderful way, something that looked so pure and happy. Alice felt the urge to smile along with him.

“Let’s be real here, we can take a dragon,” Alice gave in and smiled in such a way that was very rare for her. It was a happy expression, those were few and far between.

He laughed, just a little, and showed Alice the sword he’d picked, “Like it?”

“Let me see,” Alice held out a hand to take the hilt of the blade from Alex, and she held out her spear in exchange.

She could see the runes on the sword; they seemed to be…hovering not even an inch off of the blade. She figured that this must be a fine example of this world’s magic; it was an art that she hoped to become adept in. Since Blackburn thought that she would be suited for a wizard’s staff, she had to have some magical capability. The Smith seemed to know what he was about.

The object itself seemed to want Alex. There was no other way that Alice could have described its energy. As a witch in her home world, she’d tried to practice the art of sensing intent. Though that wasn’t so much magic as looking abjectly at the connections that all things shared. Some would have still called it magic.

Alice was mediocre at best, but this sword held almost as much energy as a living thing. It wanted just as any living thing. It had a desire, and that more than frightened her. It wanted Alex.

Not in a harmful way, she was sure of it. It seemed excited like a dog that knew its master was coming home. Moreover, Alex seemed to have a liking for the sword already, and Alice wasn’t going to intervene. Not yet anyway. Later maybe, if the sword seemed to be more trouble than it was worth.

When she thought about it, the sword looked similar to her spear. It was the same shade of blue tinged metal, and the hilt had a subtle silver inlay that looked like the colored veins on her new weapon. They both held the same grace, but Alice wasn’t drawn to the sword in the same way she was to the spear. If anything, there was a subtle rebuff at her touch.

Alice handed the sword back to her companion, “It’s nice, kinda looks like we have a matching set, doesn’t it?”

“Yeah, I thought so too,” he nodded with a thoughtful expression, “We could always ask.”

“Once they’re done,” Alice motioned to the pair of men who were haggling over prices.

It took several minutes, in which Alice began to spin her spear out of boredom. She didn’t drop it, hit anything, or make a fool of herself in any way, which pleased her. Before she and her companions exited, Alice turned to Blackburn again.

“These two things,” she tapped her spear and gestured to Alex’s now sheathed sword, “Are they part of a set? They look very similar.”

“I’m afraid I don’t know. They were both sold to me quite some years ago by the same man. He said he was a traveler, but would tell me no more,” the smith shrugged, “They are excellent weapons, but I haven’t the slightest idea where they came from.”

“Thank you,” Alice gave him a slight bow, “I hope to return here if we’re successful.”

“And I hope to meet you,” he said rather formally. Alice didn’t mind his tone, but smiled and exited. She rather liked Blackburn. He was straight to the point, no condescending attitude or expectations, if you didn’t know something, he told you.

“We should head back to the Swan, by the time we get there, the evening meal will be about to start,” Andy looked around the street, getting his bearings on the time and their location. Looking in his mental map for the best route back.

Alice didn’t think it took them twenty minutes to return. Andy’s route was fast when combined with the steady pace he set and his various shortcuts. It was dusky, Alice’s favorite time of day. The setting sun streaked the somewhat cloudy sky with golden-orange rays, painting the scene of a picture to be observed in person. She tried to enjoy it, even if it was just for a second, before entering the Golden Swan behind Alex and Andy.

A few minutes after their entry, Skeld requested, rather merrily and possibly under the influence of some amount of alcohol, to see Alice’s selection of weapon. Bregnest intervened, and said that if there was to be any display of arms, it would be tomorrow after the company was out of the city.

In response to this, Skeld made a joking comment to their leader, which Alice rolled her eyes at. She realized that eye rolling would happen often in Skeld’s presence.

Then the meal began, and with it Alice had to leap over a mental barrier in the form of a persistent uncomfortable feeling. It was yet another flaw of hers. Eating around other people made her feel amazingly self-conscious. She made small conversation with Alex, whom she was seated next to, trying to ease into the room’s atmosphere.

The only one who seemed to be aware of her discomfort was Arconn, who drew all attention away from Alice. She was positive that he was doing it with the intention of making her more comfortable. Somehow, it worked. Alice managed to eat slowly and not be sick, which was a nice change from other group events she’d attended.

Even though this was supposed to be friendly.

She started talking to Arconn after eating, even though she hadn’t managed to choke down much.  Alice asked him question after question, on the etiquette of this place, about the city, about the country they were in, and more importantly…about magic.

He didn’t seem surprised at her general questions. Though once she started asking about specific things like rituals and rune-crafting, he thought of asking his own questions.

“Why such specifics?” That was the first question.

Alice grimaced and took a sip of her water before answering, “In my world, magic is comparable to a lesser known religion. It’s hard to use, and even then it doesn’t always work. Spells are finicky and hard to master unless you’re following old rituals and rules. Not many people even believe in its existence,” she sighed, “I practice my world’s version of magic. We call my kind Witches; I was wondering whether magic from my world would work in this one.”

Arconn had a pause of about three minutes at this. He seemed to be in deep thought.

“And you were skilled at this?” he asked Alice, twirling a bit of this long hair with an absent motion.

“As skilled as one can be when having to teach herself,” she pondered for a moment, “by that I mean I can work magic, but I’m not the best in our old ways. I’m better at rune-craft, offensive magic, and sensing intent or residual energy in objects or people.”

“Impressive. Would there be a way to tell definitively if the use of your skills carried over?” Arconn seemed  interested in Alice’s thought on the matter.

“There are a few I could think of, it involves several experiments. I already know that sensing intent is something I can still do,” Alice shrugged, “That might come in handy.”

“Indeed it may,” Arconn thought for a moment more, “Would it be possible to conduct these experiments tonight?”

Alice took a long moment, listing in her mind the things she would need. All of them she had at home, in a drawer. She could picture it in the bottom of her dresser, all the implements of her craft inside.

“There are several common things I would need, but it can be done,” she nodded to him, “I would need a quiet space outside, and preferably a candle to provide some light.”

Arconn smiled at her, “If the things you need are as common as candles, we’ll have no problem.”

“They are,” Alice assured. She was going to go on, but Bregnest began speaking. Taking pledges of company membership from everyone, and announcing that Alex and Alice may have magical ability. To Alice's credit, she didn't flinch or sink back into her chair when the entire company focused on Alex and her.

Alice and Arconn said nothing about their previous conversation.

After Bregnest finished, everyone began to disperse. Alice volunteered to share a room with Arconn. Alex would be rooming with Andy. Bregnest offered to arrange another room for Alice, but she assured him that she had no reservations about sleeping in the same room as a man. After all, she would soon be resting around an entire company of men, wouldn’t she?

He followed her wishes, and Alice soon found herself alone with Arconn. She asked him what time he would like to test her magical theories.

He suggested that they prepare and rest for an hour, by then most of their company members would be asleep.

“In that case, I think I’ll need charcoal, a candle, a small bit of paper, ink and a brush…do you have chalk and chalkboards here?” She asked, frowning. If such things didn’t exist here, she would have to waste paper, something that she detested.

“We do, though I only have a small board. It was once used to create small musical tunes, a lost passion I’m afraid. Do you have a preference for color of candle?” Arconn reached for his magic bag.

“White would be nice,” Alice sighed, relieved, “Do you want me to show you what I do as I go along?”

Arconn set the items requested, one by one, on an end table by the bunk bed, “Would it trouble you or interrupt what you’re going to do?”

“No, I don’t think so,” Alice picked up the chalk and according board, sitting down on the floor. The room had a lamp, it wasn’t bright. In fact she found it just dim enough to concentrate. “The first step to what I’d like to do involves crafting runes or symbols, depending on which term you’d like to use.” She wrote two words at the top of the board, “These mean ‘Crafting fire’ which is self-explanatory. This will be the most direct test of power. If this works, I have no doubt that most other things will.”

Arconn settled behind her, watching what she did. Alice removed the vowel sounds from the word, narrating her own process, “Some of this depends purely on the crafter. Some people might not use the same symbol for ‘fire’ as I do. In fact I doubt anyone else would have the exact same rune.”

“Would it work for a different person?” Arconn questioned, he seemed to be altogether interested in Alice’s actions.

“In my experience, yes. Although it’s never quite as effective for someone who isn’t the original crafter.”

It took Alice the better part of the hour allowed to make the two symbols, at which point Arconn took her to a rather deserted alley behind the Swan. It must have been midnight by then. Arconn lit the candle while Alice copied her two symbols onto the small bit of parchment paper her companion had provided.

“It’ll be midnight soon, won't it?” Alice inquired to her companion with a slight smile.

“Yes, it will. Does that affect your magic?” He seemed puzzled, just slightly.

“That depends on a lot of things, the explanation is long. The short version is that the first three hours after midnight strikes are excellent for some rituals,” Alice rolled her shoulders, trying to make them less tense, “One such ritual would be the activation of these runes.”

Alice drew her sigils carefully once more, this time using the charcoal, on her right hand palm. Dropping the small dusty stick, she put the corner of her page in the candle, repeating in a whisper the meaning of her runes as the paper burned away. She felt something draining. Alice was tired now, she took a long, deep breath.

“Crushue fayra,” her voice was throaty and deeper than usual, she held up her palm to the north candle’s flame upon speaking her activation.

Alice expected a further drain of power, but the activation was the only part that consumed a noticeable part of her energy. She was caught totally off guard by a jet of blue flame, radiating from the sigil on her palm.

She released the magic by force of will a few seconds later.

Arconn came to her side, “Are you alright?”

“Yes, yes I’m fine. Thrilled in fact. Stand back, I need to see if it’ll work twice,” Alice breathed deeply again, wiping at her palm. She redrew the rune before holding out her palm again toward empty air after Arconn had stepped away, “Crushue fayra!”

The command had more power in it this time, more conviction, and Alice tried to add an emotion to it. She attributed anger to it. Old anger that had burned long in her. Anger toward her family and the life she wasn’t a part of anymore. The flame responded, burning even hotter and brighter, at a farther range than before as well.

She hadn’t expected this. A fire spell at home would have meant that the candle flame would burn more consistently, not that it would  _ literally _ create flames.

“This is wonderful!” she shook the flame out of her palm and smiled like a child in glee, “After the first activation, the effect is lasting as long as I have the rune!”

She turned to Arconn, “And the activation is the part that takes the most energy. I could prepare ten runes at once and as long as I had something to draw with, I could use them whenever I needed. It only takes a little bit of power to reactivate them!”

“We should tell Bregnest in the morning.” Arconn advised her, blowing out the candle and picking it up. “Is this kind of magic dangerous to you in any way?”

“Well...in my world, witches can be exposed to things while activating runes or participating in other aspects of the craft. There are things that can help to block outside influences,” Alice took a short moment to breathe, “In fact, a circle of salt can be used in our world to protect someone completely from negative energies. I don’t know what kind of things you have here.”

“Things?” Arconn prompted.

“We have demons and lingering spirits where I come from. While I don’t sense either of them in my immediate vicinity here, that doesn’t mean they aren’t around. It might be harder for me to sense them here, or they might not be here at all. There’s no way for me to tell,” Alice sighed, rubbing her tired eyes.

“We call evil spirits Wraiths here, if they are powerful,” Arconn seemed to stare at the starry sky as he continued “What happens if you’re influenced by them?”

“Spells can go awry; a witch can be influenced for days. Things like frequent and dangerous accidents, nightmares, and an overall negative mood can happen. Though if a spirit or demon is powerful enough…we can be just a little bit possessed.” Alice spoke her last words with some hesitation, “All things are dangerous, everything has a price. If witches aren’t careful, the price can be high.”

“I see.” Arconn’s tone was grim, “You take this risk often?”

“Yes, but something as far as possession is almost unheard of.” Alice answered, erasing her chalk circle with the tread of her shoe. She stumbled slightly, not over any apparent object.

“Let’s get you back inside,” Arconn took Alice by her shoulders, trying to keep her upright.


	4. A One Way Ride?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Questions, questions, and far too few answers.

“Yes?” His question was in immediate response to hers, it was clear that he hadn’t been truly asleep. She wondered if, somehow, he could keep up the humming while dreaming.

“I was worried that you were asleep,” she explained with relief in her voice, “Do you not do that? Sleep, I mean. I- I don't know anything about elves.”

“We don’t sleep as most understand the term. It’s more in the area of controlled rest, letting one part of the mind shut down while keeping the others alert,” he explained.

Alice tried to imagine the elf in the position she’d looked down and seen him in earlier: lying on top of blankets in soft clothes meant for sleeping. The low cut neck not sitting quite straight. His hands folded on his stomach, eyes closed and ankles crossed. It was a posture that reminded her of a man lying in the shade of a tree during a summer afternoon.

All Alice could think to say for a moment was “Oh!” in a rather surprised tone. “Can anyone do that, or is it a trait specific of elves?”

He took a long moment before answering, gathering thoughts into words, and words into sentences, “It is not an easy thing to learn, but it can be done. Usually those with magical ability could acquire the skill with some success. It requires practice.”

Alice observed the white washed ceiling without seeing very much, her mind was focused on the conversation, “So…In theory I could learn.”

“Do you wish for me to teach you?” Arconn’s voice sounded like a smile to her, and she liked it.

“Yes, I very much would,” Alice almost forgot to add “Please.”

“We could start now, if you wanted,” he offered, “There’s still about an hour before the earliest risers in our company will even think of shifting out of their warm beds. Neither of us seem to be able to relax.”

That was how they passed the small hours of the morning: talking, teaching, learning. Alice was tired, but she knew that there would be no real rest for her this night, so she let her eyes close as she spoke. It was quite funny to her; they were talking about rest while neither of them was actually getting any.

When Arconn told her that it was time for them to waken, Alice actually resented the oncoming sunrise. She wanted to know more. Once again, she wanted to know everything. The only difference this time was that the subject of her desire had changed.

They dressed at the same time, neither particularly caring about the partially undressed other person in the room. Alice thought it was nice, she’d had a brief thought about the elf making a fuss over her gender. Besides, it wasn’t as if they were doing more than putting on different shirts and pants, finding socks in magic bags and lacing up boots. In Alice’s mind there was no reason to make a big to-do over such small things, and she was glad Arconn seemed to agree. 

Alice was, once again, nervous. Today was the day that the real adventure started. She also had to inform the company about her magic. Hopefully she wouldn’t have to give anyone a long winded explanation. She knew from talking with Arconn that this magic was a far cry from the normal sort in this world.

Alice sat with Arconn at the table they’d eaten at the night before, and Bregnest lumbered in shortly after them. He didn’t seem like much of a morning person, but a cup of coffee soon changed that. It brightened up Alice as well, and she took the opportunity to get Bregnest’s attention in full before anyone else came in.

Alice cleared her throat nervously, and moved to the chair on Bregnest’s left.

“Something the matter?” he asked, giving her his full attention.

“You remember Andy telling you about me having magical potential?” Alice asked, hoping that his memory didn’t take time to recover from sleep, and that he wasn’t nearly as groggy as he seemed.

“Yes, as a matter of fact I do. Is there something you wish to tell me?” Alice appreciated his relaxed demeanor.

“In the place I came from, I could use magic to some extent. Last night I conducted a test. I wanted to do that before mentioning the magic; I wasn’t sure that my skill would carry over,” Alice tried to explain herself in a hurry, wondering if the company leader would be angry at her for concealing the witchcraft.

“I’ll assume it worked, since you’re telling me about it?” Bregnest took another sip of his coffee, and then leisurely cracked his knuckles. There was no concern on his face, or anger in the slightest.

“It was a roaring success,” Alice grinned, “I could show you, if you wanted. It works even better here than it did in my home.”

“I’ll tell the company later today, though they’ll trickle in soon enough. Maybe a demonstration would be done best on the road. The first camp we make, that would be best,” Bregnest seemed to be thinking aloud to himself, moving one calloused thumb in circles on his coffee mug.

“I don’t know the extent of the magic yet, what  _ exactly _ I can or can’t do is still a mystery. The basics will work, although it takes much more energy than it used to,” Alice nursed her drink, not quite wanting to finish the warm contents of the mug.

“Don’t exhaust yourself,” the leader warned.

“No, of course not,” Alice’s assurance was a quick one, given before a rather tired Skeld sauntered through the room’s entryway.

“Mornin’,” he mumbled, barely opening his mouth.

“Sleep well?” Alice was marginally concerned with the dragging of his feet. Wondering if Skeld would be able to rouse himself enough to form a sentence before midday.

“Had a dream about fire,” he made a waving motion with his hand in dismissal; Arconn handed the man a brimming mug of blacker-than-midnight coffee, “You sleep well?” Skeld muttered, sitting across from Alice. The morning didn’t seem to have a seating arrangement, as last night’s gathering had.

“Not really. Funny thing is, I was using fire magic last night.” Alice’s mouth set in a line, a rather sarcastic expression for her.

“Knew you was a wizard. Wha’ kina fire?” Skeld’s words were oddly pronounced. He was trying to talk and drink scalding hot coffee in the same moment.

“Aren’t you going to burn your mouth?” Alice’s eyes scrunched up, scrutinizing the man’s every move.

Skeld only made a sort of ‘I don’t really care’ motion with his free hand.

“It was sort of a column of fire,” Arconn offered, not ignoring Skeld’s inquiry completely.

“What about fire?” Halfdan and Thrang entered, each walking purposefully toward the pitcher of steaming hot coffee .

“Alice has magic,” Bregnest sighed, “I’ll explain when I don’t have to do so six times in a day.”

“Want to wake the young boys?” Halfdan asked, “Andy is still snoring.”

“Let them rest,” Bregnest’s mug was refilled by Thrang, as was Alice’s; he looked at the dwarf with thankfulness in his smile. The leader turned to Arconn, who was standing next to a small end table with a gold bell resting on its top, “Would you be so kind?”

Arconn rang the bell, and this promptly brought a variety of breakfast foods to the table in a buffet style. Everyone who was still half asleep was slowly waking up. To her dread, Alice found that Halfdan was a morning person. She’d never understood how people could be so cheery upon waking from sleep.

Even Skeld slowly regained his normal demeanor. Alice noticed, after some minutes, that Tayo had slipped into the room without her notice. Mentally Alice scolded herself, wondering when he’d arrived.

The company members moved away from the table at their own pace, trickling out as they were finished with breakfast.

Alice turned to Arconn, “They’re going…?” the ‘where’ of the sentence was implied to him.

“To the stables,” he answered around a bit of toast. “We’ll go together,” he assured, seeing the unsure look on Alice’s face in the slight purse of her lips and the way her brow scrunched.

She was thankful to him, more than anything. Alice could see herself and the understanding elf becoming good friends, and hoped the vision could become a reality. In the meantime, she listened to Bregnest and Arconn talking leisurely about their immediate schedule. Four hours’ ride would see them to something called a “Great Arch.” Beyond that it would take several days to reach an Oracle’s tower. 

Eventually Arconn moved to rise and leave the room, Alice following closely behind him. He introduced Alice to her new companion, a mottled grey and black horse. “His name is Nightmare. I’ll help you look after him for the first few days of our travels, but after that he will be your responsibility. Bregnest has an excellent eye for horses, likely you’ll have an easy time learning to ride.”

Nightmare seemed to like her. No matter how nervous Alice was by the creature, he never bit or kicked at her. Arconn was constantly smiling at Alice’s attempts to pet her new companion. “You’ve never been close to a horse before?”

“I live in a city, we have no room for horses. Cats, dogs, and birds are common, but anything larger than a dog is too hard to maintain or house.” Alice leaned on the stable’s waist high outer railing, her forearms pressed against the weathered wood. She watched Alex and Andy tend Alex’s new companion, Shahree.

“I know something of your world, at least of how different from this one it is. Thomas, your father, described it in detail to me once. I still have a few of the sketches he used from that time, one of them was of his home.” he paused for a moment, Alice listened intently still, “Your world seems so lifeless in comparison to the one I have always known.”

“It is. My world pulls the life out of people, atrocities are always being committed somewhere, somebody is dying a horrible death somewhere else, people make other people miserable because they can. Lots of people try their best to forget, and I can’t blame them. The knowledge crushes the breath from your chest.”

“I don’t know why anybody who discovered this place would ever leave.” Alice sighed, awaiting a response. None came. Arconn seemed unwilling to comment. “Ah, but won't we be venturing onward soon? There’s no use in dwelling on things, we should be preparing.” 

This seemed to rouse him from thought, and together they began to saddle Nightmare, then Alice strung her magic bag to the saddle horn. Arconn left to prepare his own transportation, declining help.

It left Alice with time to think, time that she didn’t want. So, to fill it, she sought out Tayo.

“Need something?” His question was soft, his tone of voice gentle.

“Ah, I was only looking for company.” Alice was nervous, and didn’t feel the need to hide that fact.

“I’m sure Skeld is in a bright mood, then.” His response was no less soft than before, but she knew Tayo was urging her to move on; it wasn’t hard to see.

So, of course, move she did. Skeld had swaggered over to Nightmare in the brief time she’d walked away, anyway.

“Alice, Arconn asked me to give you these,” Skeld held a quantity of maybe half a dozen books, all of them large volumes, “and to tell you that they’re mostly about the magic wizards use here.”

Alice took the books from him without hesitation, she wanted to know about the magic in this wondrous land she was in. “Much appreciated, Skeld.”

Though even after the dismissal the blond didn’t move away, he waited. Alice put each book inside of her bag and turned back to him expectantly. “What’s the matter?”

“Oh, nothing at all, I’m only waiting for our ride to the arch to begin, that’s all.” He paused, his normally jubilant tone distinctly level, “Tayo doesn’t seem to want company today, so I’ve wandered over here.”

“I got that impression from him too, but, anyway, tell me about yourself. I’d like to get to know everyone here, and you seem like the most open to my pestering.” Alice smiled, leaning once more on the railing, her head tipped back to look at the sky above.

“Well I’d like to think I’m funny, charming, and all around friendly. I’ve got a winning smile and a sense of humor to die for.” Skeld made the traditional fainting motion, pretending to swoon over all of his positive qualities, “What about you?”

Alice shrugged, “Here comes Bregnest, looks like we’re leaving.” She cringed inside to think of how the man had just saved her from having to lie. She didn’t think about her own self very much, introspection had never suited her.

“Everyone ready?” Bregnest called into the assembling adventurers, Alice being one of them. Their leader led a horse of his own by the reigns. Various calls of assent carried themselves to him.

Skeld helped her mount Nightmare. The journey had begun, and they might never come back.


	5. Where is this?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We.

The first few hours on the road were unmarred by difficulty and unremarkable by way of awesome events. Alice was underwhelmed, but alert with worry. The Great Arch wasn’t much of an arch after all as it turned out. It was two tower-like rock faces with the sky as the ‘top’ of the arch formation. Alice found it almost poetic, in a way. The sky was literally the limit in this case, and who was to say that her own life wouldn’t follow the same principle? She almost spoke to Tayo about it...before remembering that he probably wouldn’t appreciate her conversation. She wondered if he had always been like this as she passed through the stone gateway.

He was posing quite a dilemma. Since the hours long ride had begun, she had been placed next to Tayo. That made him the obvious one to converse with in spite of his even more obvious anti-social state.  That said, Alice wanted to stay in the good graces of  _ every _ company member, and talking to Tayo might fast track her to become an annoyance. She could turn around completely and talk to Skeld instead, but doing that would take her eyes off of where her horse was going. She didn’t know how smart horses were; would Nightmare veer off track if she didn’t pay attention? Was a horse like a car in that way?

She had no idea.

There were so many things she didn’t know, and it bothered her. She hesitated to retrieve a book from her bag, though. The inattention might be scolded. So she sat, alert, atop Nightmare. Saying nothing, worrying in her own mind over the self-imposed awkwardness of the situation. It was terrible. Anxiety had her stomach unsettled, and Alex’s cheerful talk with Andy up the column made her feel inadequate. Would the rest of the company think she was lackluster because of his shine? Alice knew she wasn’t as good as Alex, but she wanted to try to be!

Alice’s hands fiddled with Nightmare’s reigns, tying small knots in the overlong cord before worrying them undone with her hands. It was something to do, at least, rather than shake. Her face, however, portrayed none of her twirling worries, though, as it had held a soft smile since setting out. She was pretty sure, in fact, that her expression hadn’t changed for even a second. When was the last time she blinked? 

Alice was beginning to notice things changing as they rode away from the Arch they'd passed through. The land on the Arch's other side was colder, almost like autumn. Some of the grass was green, but not much else aside from abundant fir trees showed life. Mid autumn or late spring? The sky was slowly greying as they rode on. She reveled quietly in the cool breeze that carried the comforting smell of decaying leaves and recent rain.

In the end, it was a late lunch that saved Alice from the limbo of anxiety. Bregnest called a halt, they were to set camp for the day perhaps a league past the Arch, near a stream where they filled an innumerable amount of water containers. Alice was entranced by the landscape. Something was definitely different. The world on the Great Arch’s other side seemed less wild, more safe. She liked it better on this side. It reminded her of the city. Close cropped tall objects, spots to hide, and places to escape; though now there were trees instead of brick buildings, underbrush instead of alleys, and getting away would be harder. Here she didn’t have twisting, sharp cornered paths memorized to get away from danger. Here, she would have to rely on friends to be safe. She reminded herself that they, too, would rely on her.

Somebody relying on her. The thought was foreign, so much so that it was almost comical. Alice was only really good at looking after herself and Alex. Nobody in their right mind would actually  _ depend _ on her for something. The thought of being trusted among her new group was a thrill that made her chest feel light.

“Alice, why don’t you go and gather firewood?” Bregnest was giving an order, and she knew it. Their company leader had already dismounted, and Alice threw herself off Nightmare to comply with his orders.

Alice did as she was told, walking into the treeline; she could feel the life of the plants around her. It was overwhelming, but she pressed on, picking up fallen sticks and branches as she went. Alice’s breath slowed, her mind tuning into the song of the natural world. It was so much easier in this realm because magic flowed through it like blood through veins.

This world wouldn’t be the same without magic. She started to hum to the thrum of life in the trees and wonder how much firewood they needed. Alice had quite the bundle already. She’d never seen so many trees at once with her own eyes. There weren’t any forests at all close to the city where she lived. The life in the forest was so loud. Pressingly, all consumingly loud.

_ The grass was lush and green under feet, the dirt holding the roots of so many plants and living th ings. It goes dow n in finitely for m ile s  _ **_isthereevenan othersideandhowca nIgetthere? The sky rises up forever and holds the secret to LIFE._ ** _ I am so sMall and we could be so lARge; we could be everYthing and noThing.  _

Her mind spun.

"When did I start saying  _ we _ ?" Alice whispered breathlessly into the forest.

Trees groaned and shifted with rustling leaves all around her, and Alice watched their branches move without wind. She couldn't bring herself to move. Some of the boughs seemed to grow longer in her direction and the hum of nature in her mind crescendoed into a sensation of welcome. Her chest felt like it was going to burst.

_ We. _

The single concept filled her mind.

Pounding footsteps made the trees stop moving. It was like they'd been caught doing something wrong. Alice’s heart lurched when she spun around, firewood im her arms still, to look at whoever was coming. It was Arconn.

“Alice, come back. Stop listening to the forest.” His tone seemed to be filled with thinly veiled worry. Alice said nothing, following him without hesitation. She glanced back to the trees after Arconn seized her elbow, and saw that the tree branches were almost woven together around where she was standing before he arrived. The grass where her feet were had grown taller, greener, and flowers sprouted in a way that shouldn't have been possible in the short period Alice had been there or for the time of year, regardless as to whether or not it was spring or autumn.

She blinked for a long second to try and think clearly again. This much life was almost intoxicating, and it wasn't even summer; the warmest season brought tremendous amounts of life that were currently absent. Maybe the trees in this world weren’t used to people  _ listening _ to them. In the city, Alice had to strain to hear and feel the life of the earth beneath her, here it almost cried for attention. “I’m sorry.”

Arconn looked over at her, “You don’t have to be. Usually humans can’t so easily hear the world around them, elves are more attuned. I could tell from the camp what was going on.”

“Why did they do that? Reach out, I mean.” They’d stopped some meters from the campsite, out of earshot. Alice noticed how much more muted the forest had become now that it didn’t have her full attention. Maybe she’d given it too  _ much  _ attention.

Arconn stepped closer to Alice than he’d been before, keen eyes glancing around at the flora. He seemed protective; he rested his hands on Alice's upper arms gently. “Well, they didn’t. It’s more accurate to say you pulled them in. You must be more careful with your thoughts.”

"I- with my thoughts?" Alice was frightened, but awestruck. She looked straight into Arconn's eyes, and he squeezed her arms just a little. "I'll stay close to the others, and...try not to do it again?"

"Stay close to me whenever possible. I can help you quiet your thoughts, and not draw living things close. When we move on I will ride next to you; I will teach you." Arconn glanced around at the flora one last time, and let Alice go. They walked together back to the camp; Arconn sighed before sitting down at a stone rimmed firepit. Alice began to construct her best approximation of a fire, going off of what she learned from watching camping videos.

"Y' ever built a fire before?" Thrang seemed puzzled by how she was going about the task. Certainly not angry, but he crouched down next to Alice in the green grass to see better what she was doing.

Alice looked down at her work. It was certainly a standing cone of sticks, that was how fires worked, right? Make a cone of small sticks, logs at the bottom, tinder in the middle. "No, never."

He grunted, "Well, you'll do better next time. This is a decent start." He adjusted some of the wood into what was, apparently, a better position. Alice couldn't tell that anything was different by the time he finished. "Lemme show y' next time we set camp." He stood up and backed away a few feet, watching the sticks and Alice.

"I believe Thrang is waiting for you to light the fire." Bregnest had come over while Alice was frowning at her work. "I, for one, would like to see you do it with magic."

Alice shrank into herself, and put one of her fingertips into the old ashes of the firepit. To have built up so much, this place had to be a popular camping spot. She drew on her opposite palm the rune for fire she'd created just one night ago. Her hand poised itself just outside of the stick bundle, palm up with her fingertips pointing into the kindling. Unlike the night prior Alice knew what she wanted the fire to do.

Thrang's voice made her flinch, "C'mon and see one of our wizards do some magic!" She could hear in his voice that he was pleased, maybe happy. Alice's gut twisted at the thought of being watched. Her hand shook, but she tried to stay still.

She waited a solid minute for the rest of the company to gather before barely audibly whispering her word of power.  _ Fayra.  _

A spout of fire lazily unfurled, and poured forth from her hand; the flame laid itself into the bottom of the fire like cool honey into tea. Alice let out the breath she'd been holding to curl her fingers in. As Alice closed her fist the flame ceased to flow, leaving the campfire blazing.

"Not what I was expecting, but certainly useful." Bregnest sounded contemplative, and Alice jolted.

"Thats- this isn't all I can do! See?" Alice tossed her palm skyward and said the word louder. Fear fed the fire until it was a sharp column in the sky, blazing orange against the blue. "I can-" Her mouth felt dry, "I can be useful!" She snapped her palm shut when her entire arm started to shake. Alice clamped her teeth down so hard on the inside of her cheek that it started to bleed, and looked to Bregnest.

He had a surprised expression. "Of course you can. You  _ are _ useful, and a valued member of our company as well." His eyes were grey like storm clouds, or owl feathers. "While we're all focused, I shall state the final instructions for this adventure. They follow the guidelines listed in the  _ Adventurer's Handbook _ ."

Alice didn't move an inch as Bregnest spoke about rules and advisings, but almost stopped breathing when he brought up lost company members. She hadn't thought about being separated or lost. She hadn't thought of losing someone else in the company. The idea seemed to drain the color from everything around her for a split second. Alice listened to Bregnest, but barely heard anything he said after that.

It was Halfdan setting up a cooking stand that snapped her out of it. He smiled at her, saying something akin to a 'pardon me' even though Alice's mind was elsewhere. She wandered through the grass toward Nightmare, and he raised his head from where he was grazing to look at her. Alice rested her forehead on his neck just to feel another living being. So much had happened in barely two days. She was dizzy. Alice felt like she was choking.

Alex's voice wove its way through her hazy thoughts. "Hey, are you going to be okay? Is the anxiety bothering you?" He hooked one finger into hers to make sure he had Alice's attention.

She choked out a noise. "There-s a-a lot going o-on." Alice was trying to make sure her breathing stayed even. It was a struggle as her chest tightened. She didn't want to have an anxiety attack in this camp with all these almost strangers.

Alex tugged his best friend's hand up to his chest, "Breathe." He took a deep breath in with his chest, where Alice could feel him moving. He watched her struggle to copy him, and exhaled when it looked like she'd taken a long breath. Even if it was halting or stuttered, it was a breath none-the-less. It was a few dozen repetitions later that Alice could breathe normally again. "See? You did it; everything is okay."

Alice nodded in short movements for a moment, her voice was quiet "Yeah, yeah I did. I'm okay. Having everyone watch me was just...too much. I was scared. What if I-"

Alex cut her off, "But you didn't. Everything is okay. I'm here with you, you're here with me. We have each other." His hand squeezed hers ever-so-slightly to emphasize his point. "We can do this."

Alice took a deep, long breath and repeated: "We can do this." They walked to the campfire where Halfdan was cooking and settled down to listen to the chatter of their companions. It wasn't long after lunch that they set off again, Alice had snuffed the fire with the same word she used to create it.

It wasn't long after they began riding again that Alice's attention was caught. "Arm yourselves!" Bregnest turned his head and shoulders to call back to the company. "From this point forward Vargland slowly becomes dangerous, be ready."

Her face set into a snarl, brought about by the thought of something,  _ anything _ trying to hurt Alex. Alice summoned her spear out of her bag along with her pocket knife. It was odd for this world, and certainly didn't belong, but it was something. It clipped to the front of her pants, under the fabric of a black tunic. One end of her spear rested by her foot in the right side saddle stirrup. It felt natural.

The sky was softly grey as could be, the wind rustled the trees and assorted foliage, and the sound of a stream flowing nearby. All these things together made a sound like a perfect day for Alice. Even as Arconn caught her attention, some resolve deep in her soul hardened. By the time the company settled for the night to set camping gear and blanket the horses, that resolve had turned to iron from barren rock.


	6. One of Us

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A combat trial, and burning adreneline.

Alice's eyes fluttered open when Arconn stirred at dawn's break, and immediately she knew something was wrong. The second she moved a muscle, that muscle burned; Alice's body overall fared no better. Her eyes squeezed shut tightly for just a moment before she moved in ernest. Alice ignored every ounce of pain she felt and forced her body to move normally. Into her bag she went, speaking the password quietly into its opening to wash her hair, face, et cetera. Every movement made Alice's body scream. When she emerged from the bag to struggle her way out of Arconn's tent, it became apparent that she was not the only one suffering.

Skeld was laughing at Alex and Andy, whom it looked like he'd just woken. They moved stiffly, grimacing.

"You've aged ninety years in a night! Thrang, look at these old men." Skeld could barely catch his breath to speak, but calmed quickly when Alex stumbled and made a sound of pain. "Hey! Don't rush, you're sore from riding is all." Skeld made quick time to Alex's side, and helped him up.

The ground was covered with snow, perhaps an inch, and the sky overcast at best. Alice stretched. Sore from riding, eh? Whatever. She’d been through worse. Her legs carried her over to crouch in front of the already crackling morning fire. Halfdan was already starting to make their breakfast. “Do you need any help?”

The dwarf looked up with a smile, “I’m alright, but thank you. Are you doing alright yourself?” He was glancing between Alice and what he was cooking, seemingly able to split his attention flawlessly.

She shrugged through her screaming muscles. “I’m just fine, appreciate you asking.”

A voice startled Alice, and she jolted. “Are you quite sure about that?” Bregnest. It was definitely Bregnest who’d snuck up on her. "You haven't ridden before, judging by  _ how _ you ride. You must be sore."

"I've felt worse. This is nothing I can't handle." Her smile was easy, and Alice rose out of her crouch smoothly. It hurt, but it was tolerable. "Don't fret over it." She turned to look at Bregnest, and was surprised by how stern he looked this morning.

Bregnest looked as though he was ready to lecture her, but only sighed. "Then find your weapon, it's time to assess your and Alex's abilities."

"Got'cha." Alice hurried back to her shared tent and dragged her spear out of it. She also hiked her shirt over the pocket knife on her belt for easy access. Fighting any of the company members was going to be hard.

Bregnest was waiting for her a ways away from the fire, Arconn talking to him in a quiet tone. Alex was already on his way over, and Alice jogged to catch up. "Remember, stick 'em with the pointy end!" She slowed to a walk beside her friend.

"Don't know if I can do much more than that." Alex's shoulders rolled in a shrug.

Alice tucked her spear under an arm and stretched her hands for the upcoming strain. Battling Bregnest  _ or _ Arconn would be a challenge. Each man held a simple, one handed sword.

"Are you both ready?" Arconn seemed serene as ever. Hair and clothes neat, expression neutral, holding his sword as though it had been there his whole life. It was enviable, his poise. "I'll be assessing Alex, Bregnest will be with Alice." 

That made Alice anxious. So far, she knew Arconn best, and Bregnest seemed irritated his morning. Impatient. What if she proved unsatisfactory? 

"Lets go over here." Bregnest waved her further from where Arconn and Alex were squaring off. The layer of snow crunched under Alice's boots.

Bregnest took his stance, and only waited for Alice to raise her weapon before charging forward. His first swing was a wide arc from the left. A slow one lacking finesse. Alice blocked it without issue.

She tilted the angle of the spearpoint facing Bregnest down ever so slightly from where it was, and shoved it toward him. The spear was long enough that she could block  _ and _ attack.

She stopped the movement before the point touched Bregnest's throat. 

Her heart was pounding.

"I- I win." Her mouth was dry, but a spear through the neck would have ended the fight. After a wound like that, she would only need to retreat and wait for her attacker to bleed out.

Bregnest nodded, "So you have, and quickly at that. Lets try again."

The process of combat was repeated, and then repeated again. Bregnest's attacks became more and more fierce every time, watching for the point when Alice could no longer out-fight him.

When Alice saw no hope for herself in one bout, she charged at him. She hadn't done it yet, but Bregnest tried to stop her with a straight thrust. Alice used her spear in one hand to redirect the blade ever so slightly past her body, and pulled the knife from her belt.

She jammed the knife hilt into the side of Bregnest's neck.

His eyes were wide.

Alice staggered backwards from him, and tripped over her own feet, panting. She let the knife and spear fall from her hands. She was being soaked by the melting snow.

"Alice. Alice are you still with me?" Bregnest sheathed his simple sword, but came no closer.

Her eyes were unfocused at best. Hazy. "I just...need a break." Alice could feel her own pulse, heart beating too fast and hard to be comfortable. The cold didn't erase the burning warmth she felt from combat. It was too hot. The snow soaking her back wasn't helping.

"Take it by the fire, then. You've surpassed my expectations, we're finished." Bregnest walked toward where Alice laid on the ground, and offered her his hand. His tense expression softened. "You're one of us now, I didn't mean to push you so hard."

She took it, but nearly lost her balance the instant she was standing. Bregnest swiped the spear and knife off the ground, and motioned to the camp. Alex and Arconn were already there eating the breakfast Halfdan made.

Alice staggered after Bregnest, and let herself collapse to sit by the fire. Before anyone could hand her a plate, she went from sitting to lying. Her hands were furthest from the fire to gather a few handfuls of snow. Her hands burned from blocking strikes and straining muscles.

She spent all of breakfast trying to cool down. Trying to stop her hands from shaking and aching. Eventually, when their daily ride started, Alice felt as though she could breathe again. Her body was no longer on fire.

 


	7. Monstrous Monstro

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I won’t let him die.

Arconn was the one who tapped Alice awake in their shared tent. She jolted and was barely an inch from his face almost instantly, her knife flipped open. Instinct had taken over and immediately assumed he was an attacker, but Alice was glad she restrained herself from striking him. It would have been an awful accident.

Arconn didn't seem to care. He leaned past her face and whispered to her, "The horses are gone; come out with your weapons, and be alert." He crept out of the tent as quietly as he'd come in. Alice scrambled to pull a pair of boots on, and tug her spear out of its resting place beside her. She launched herself with near silence out of the tent, clicking her pocket knife back into fold and then clipping the thing onto her pants. She ran, light footed, to the company who were gathered in the near center of camp. Alex and Andy were creeping out of their resting place.

"We need to look for the horses, they could be far by morning," Halfdan's whisper was almost more of a hiss, but he was trying. Arcon  shoved something at Alice. A stick of charcoal? She tucked it into a belt pouch. A stick didn't  _ matter _ right now.

"Pairs?" Skeld's suggestion sparked a nod from Bregnest.

Their leader scanned hs company, "Nobody leaves camp without a partner."

"The odd one out can stay at camp." Tayo interjected, eyes scanning Alice, Andy, and Alex one by one. In the dim moonlight everyone seemed to agree.

"Skeld and Tayo, Halfdan and Thrang, Arconn and I. As pairs we'll search. Everyone else guard the camp. If there's trouble call out, we'll hear you." Bregnest pointed at each person as he mentioned them before striding off in a direction with Arconn at his back. The other pairs dispersed. Alice crouched, wondering.

She put one hand to the earth, feeling. She tuned out the whispers of life as best she could, but discerned very little from trying to sense anyone nearby from the ground. Some larger movements that probably were a tall tree swaying in the high wind caught her attention for but a moment. The more she shoved down the sounds of life's voice, the less she could discern. It took a while for her to give up.

Tens of minutes passed with Alice scanning the edges of camp obsessively.

There was a noise; Alice snapped up to stand straight. A horse. Alex heard it and took a single step forward.

"Alex!" Andy hissed, "Stick together." The desperate sound was repeated louder as soon as Andy finished speaking.

“I- I have to go,” Alex stared into Andy’s eyes for only a split second before bolting into the forest. Alice could only see him for a few meters, and once he entered the dense trees on the edges of camp, she lost him. The moonlight was too dim to see very far past the clearing, she wondered how he was going to navigate the trees.

“Bregnest said to travel in pairs,” Alice’s voice wasn’t timid, to her surprise. Her back was straight and the grip she had on the spear tightened. She took off without so much as a glance at Andy, not wanting to be persuaded into staying in the camp. Andy wasn't traveling from camp, so he could be without a partner. At least, that was how she justified leaving him to chase Alex.

Alice tried to guess where Alex had gone, it wasn’t too hard.  His course had been very much straight, and his footsteps were distant but audible. Alice felt a path plowed through the undergrowth where Alex had run, and all she had to do was follow it.

But upon arriving in the clearing Alex had stopped in, Alice found the meaning of the words “every second counts.” Her companion was in the grasp of a great monster, a troll if she had to guess. Hanging up-side-down by his leg, he was helpless. The troll was moving quickly away with her friend.

Alice mustered her courage and ran; she moved as fast and as quietly as she could up behind the monster. Swinging up her spear, she took careful aim at the creature’s wrist and thrust the razor sharp tip as far as she could into it.

The air vibrated with an agonized howl, and Alice backed away as quickly as her legs could manage. Alex rolled several feet after being dropped, and stumbled trying to get off the ground while the troll gave Alice its full attention. The boy shouted something that Alice didn’t pay attention to; she was focused on not being crushed to death by a great club. She screamed profanity as she was slowly beaten back to the edge of the clearing.

“Alex! Alex I need you!” she screamed to her friend, knowing that he would be trying to help, but he was more than likely injured to some extent, “Distract it for a minute, I have an idea!”

It took him a moment, but Alex started screaming abuse at the beast as well, and he sprinted by to slice it in the leg, drawing its attention. It gave Alice a start, before now she hadn’t noticed the troll’s third leg. Alex began to throw his  _ inferno _ spell at the beast.

_ Where is it? Where's the- Ah! _ Alice searched for the bit of charcoal Arconn had given here before he’d left camp, and began to draw. She tried hard to remember the shape of a sigil that she hadn’t used in a year, at least. She tried three times to draw it to get the shape right, and her stomach clenched. A fatal flaw in her plan; the sigil needed reactivation.

She could think of only one way, and gripped the unbloodied end of her staff.  Alice stabbed it violently into her own arm, drawing a river of blood from it. Her hand shook when she dropped the staff, taking some of the blood and crossing the sigil straight through with one swipe. She cried out at the massive drain of energy, and fell to her knees.

She looked up. Alex wasn’t going to last much longer.

_ I won’t let him die. _

She redrew the rune as fast as she could with blood on her palms, “Get down!” she yelled, resting her palms flat on the dirt in front of her. There was a violent screech of a word from her, and the very ground shook. The troll fell, adding to the movement of the soil and rock beneath the three beings. For ten solid seconds it felt like the moon and stars would be shaken from the sky to fall on the clearing.

Alice, with shoulders slumped, raised her shaking arms and hands, putting them in the direction of the beast. She whispered the same word.

“ _ Kuesa.” _

The flash of light and crack of noise were unbearable.

She heard Alex scream as she fell in the dirt, heart fluttering frantically.

Her head ached. Her stomach rolled. Her arm stung. Never before had she felt pain as agonizing as this. Was time frozen, was it passing? The agony made telling impossible.

Somebody shook her shoulder as the ringing in her ears died down, Alice couldn’t tell exactly what they were saying. It felt like an eternity before she could make out words. The first ones she heard were someone yelling “We need torches!”

She thought for a moment about that statement, and decided that it was Bregnest’s voice. Her focus changed, she was sure that the person shaking her shoulder was trying to talk with her.

“Alice. Alice can you hear me?” Their tone was not impatient, but not unhurried either. She knew that voice, but it took so much focus to truly recognize it.

She, lying face down on the ground, tried to speak. “Y-es,” was what came out, a rather elongated, strange sounding chord of voice. It was almost a sobbing exhale.

“Where is all this blood coming from?” Arconn's tone was more urgent now.

Alice realized that she’d landed on her injured arm. That was why it stung so much. Gathering her strength, she tried to roll over and show him, Arconn helped.

She heard him swear under his breath. Alice tried to open her eyes, she could tell from the soft glow under through her eyelids that he now had a source of light. She needed to know what she’d done. The light hadn’t been good enough for her to see anything else but a very dark stream of liquid before.

When her eyes opened, she understood why he swore. The amount of blood smeared on her arms and clothing would have been enough to scare anyone. The flow of it hadn’t stopped yet. Her chest was heaving like she hadn't breathed in several minutes.

“Tayo,” Arconn called, “I could use some help.” The elf had drawn one of his water bags and a rag from someplace, Alice assumed that pouring water into a gaping wound was going to hurt, but that would be nothing compared to the hammering rhythm in her head.

Tayo knelt on her other side, examining her remaining arm, “Can she speak?”

“With some difficulty,” Arconn answered. Alice’s eyes followed whoever was speaking at the time, and she saw that Arconn had a needle and thread.

She looked away before she saw anything else, focusing instead on Tayo.

He was looking at her, “Do you have any other injuries?”

She shut her eyes tight, “No,” the word was quiet, but spoken with less difficulty. "Al-Alex? Where is-" Alice stopped to gasp for breath, and Tayo rushed to quiet her.

"He's alive! Its okay, Alex yet lives." He immediately changed the subject, though. “What is this?” he questioned further, tracing the sigil on her palms since her eyes were now closed.

“Can’t- can’t say the,” she clenched her teeth for a moment, trying not to pay attention to what Arconn was doing, “Can’t speak the-" a gasp for breath "the word.”

“Can you if I take it off?” Tayo was wiping her other arm down; presumably he had water and a rag of his own. He was probably scrubbing off either more blood or dirt.

“Yes,” Alice answered, trying to move her legs even the slightest bit. She wanted to be mobile again as soon as possible. There was little feeling in her exhausted limbs.

It was odd when Tayo washed away the rune and its counterpart, it was as if Alice could feel it’s connection to her being erased. When he finished, the question was repeated, “What was that?”

“Kuesa,” Alice shuddered a sigh, “Earth-shaker, storm-caller.” Words were definitely coming more easily to her now, but the pain washing in waves over her body was, if anything, intensifying. Alice had stopped gasping for breath.

“The shaking was your doing,” Arconn said in a matter-of-fact tone, “The flash was lightning, the sound thunder.”

“Yes,” she answered simply, daring to look over at the arm Arconn held in his lap. He’d sewn the wound shut, and was now cleaning more carefully around its edges.

“Did you intend for the effects to be so strong?” Tayo grimaced, “I don’t think the blood will come out of this shirt.”

“It was an accident,” Alice finally managed to move her legs, “the blood, that made it powerful. Stronger than I wanted.”

She paused, but continued when neither of the men spoke, “Is Alex hurt?”

“Alex is fine, only a bump on his head,” a new voice came sounded close by, Alice looked to see who it was.

Skeld sat himself at Alice’s head, lifting it off the ground to rest in his lap. He shrugged, “Seeing as you won’t be moving for a time,” this statement was what he offered in explanation. Alice was in no mood to protest. “In fact, he’s making his way over here now.”

Alice wrenched her eyes open again, having closed them only a second prior, and managed to turn slightly when her friend approached.

“That was amazing,” he breathed, taking the torch that Arconn had stuck in the ground and holding it up for better light. The elf had been silent for some minutes now, and a thick layer of bandages had been settled over Alice’s arm.

“Had to do something,” she managed a smile, looking over her friend. He was dirty, but unmarked by blood. Alex was called over by Bregnest, and Alice laid her head peacefully for a long time in Skeld's lap, nearly unmoving. Her strength was slowly coming back; trickling into her body with time. None of her companions were making a move to leave, aside from Arconn. The pain reached its crest as she lay there, and began to wain marginally.

“Can- can one of you help me get up?” Alice posed the question with tiredness in her soul. Skeld shared a look with Tayo, Arconn gave his consent from where he'd moved to talk with the rest of the company. Tayo grasped Alice's uninjured arm and pulled her forward while Skeld supported her from under the shoulders. The latter of the two held Alice in a vice grip until he was sure she could stand on her own.

“I need to go back to camp and get my bag,” she sighed, looking down at herself with a grimace. Tayo was probably right, the shirt wouldn’t survive this.

“I’ll take you,” Skeld announced.

“I don’t need an-” Alice was promptly cut off.

Skeld patted her shoulders, “You’ll fall over halfway there if somebody doesn’t take you.”

She glared, but knew that resistance would be like trying to persuade a plant not to grow in summer. Nearly useless.

They started away from the clearing, Skeld had linked their arms, and she could tell that he was truly worried about her. It was refreshing, Alice mused, to have someone worry for her instead of constantly nitpicking herself to pieces over every little anxiety inducing thing.

They were maybe halfway there when Skeld finally spoke, as Alice knew he would.

“Even from some distance away, I felt the tremor in the ground, and I doubt anybody inside of a dozen miles didn’t hear that thunder crack. That was some magic,” he paused, “The troll is alive, by the way, but Alex seems to have frozen it in place. He told us that his spell came a moment before your second one.”

“I did hear him yell something, but I wasn’t paying attention,” Alice stepped carefully around a tiny patch of brambles, “All I wanted was for him to be alive at the end.”

“Goal accomplished,” he commented, “But maybe you can scare me a little less next time? Tayo will tell you, I was scared when the lightning hit, just a little bit.”

Alice cracked a smile, “I can certainly try, or maybe I’ll make something even bigger next time.”

“Thrang would never let me hear the end of it,” Skeld seemed to smile wider than before. Alice noted that it was almost certainly because she’d attempted to tease him.

They arrived at the camp, and Alice snatched up her bag, eager to clean herself up, “You can go back if you want, I might be a while trying to get all this,” she motioned to the blood and dirt mix that stained most of her body, “Off of me.”

“I’ll wait,” Skeld shrugged, “just don’t fall asleep or be far too long.”

“I’ll do my best,” Alice was about to enter her bag, but paused for a minute, “Thank you for walking with me.”

Then she hurried away, not waiting to hear him say another word.

She could only sigh upon entry, the inside of her bag was beginning to become rather familiar, sort of like a home away from home. Occasionally she was able to multitask while bathing, taking a book inside with her. This time though, she sat on the edge of the two-seater couch that, technically, Thrang had bought for her. It was part of the basic furniture set inside. It accompanied an arm chair, a small dining table, a bed, and two end tables.  So far, this was the bit of furniture that had gotten the most use.

She was careful not to get blood on anything, since her clothes were still damp with it. She just piled them up, intending to burn them. She wasn’t going to waste time with something she couldn’t fix. What Alice  _ could _ fix was the dry, tacky blood on the entirety of her torso. With that in mind, she headed for the bathing chamber.

It took three rounds of magical, automatic draining for the water to stop turning pink, but it was well worth it to feel clean.  Alice stuck on a set of warm clothes; Vargland seemed to be generally cold, especially during the nights. She tied up her damp hair as well, taking care. Her aches had lessened somewhat.

Not much, just enough to make sleeping off the pain seem less enticing.

She hoped that Arconn had something that could help. That would be wonderful, and this seemed like a kind of world that would have potions or elixirs.  With that thought, she put on her boots and exited the bag.

Skeld was gathering up the camp when she arrived. Or rather, the last of the camp. It was clear that  _ everyone _ had been picking up their respective camp sets. Skeld was currently collapsing Alice’s tent, which alarmed her.

“I should be the one responsible for that,” she picked up her bag and stumbled over as quickly as possible.

And Skeld, to his credit, said nothing. He bumped her, not at all gently, with his hip. To Alice it was more like a shove to her midsection; she fell. To make matters worse she tried to catch herself with her injured arm.

She laid very still after the initial impact, trying to breathe through an all new flavor of pain. She’d felt something change under the bandages, and suspected that the stitches had ripped. She screamed. It hurt. It hurt so much.

“Skeld, Skeld my stitches ripped!”

She heard objects clatter to the ground, “Don’t move, I’m going to get Arconn.” He sprinted off as Alice struggled up into a sitting position. The pain was ripping. Probably  _ literally _ ripping her flesh.

She thought of how tiring all of this was. It wasn’t surprising when that didn’t help her exhaustion. Alice clenched her teeth not to cry. Her arm throbbed with a pulse of its own.

Not even the sound of Arconn’s pounding footsteps woke her, lying in the middle of the former camp with tear streaks down her face.


End file.
